Improvement in cotton-gins



Inventar:

N. PETERS. PHOTaUTHcGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D CA @uiten tatess @attent@fitta HENRY VALENTINE 4sonfrrniu'roon, or ALBANY,y New YORK.

" Letters Patent No. 66,202, dated June 25, 184,57. A

@the Sdgehult tefnttt tu in tljrst finitas intnit mit mating part; nfthe samt.

T() ALL WHOM I'I MAY COQNCERII: i

Be it known4 that I, HENRY VALENTINE Scar'rnneoon, of the city ot'Albany, State of NewYork, have invented certain improvements in theconstruction of Cotton-Gins; and I declare the following specification,with the drawing forming part thereof, to be a full and completedescription ot' my invention.

`Figure 1 represents the gin in profile, with its pulleys and belts inplace.

Figure Zis a vertical section of the machine through its length, showingthe arrangement of the machinery.

Figure 3 is a tront view of the machine, with the covering to themachinery removed to show it.

Figure LLis a rear view ot' the machine, showing the condensingmachinery as attached to it; and

Figures 5, G, 7, 8, and 9 are sectional views of parts ofthe improvedmachinery.

Similar letters denote thc same parts of the apparatus. i i

".lhenulture of my said invention consists in forming the teeth of acotton-gin of finished and tapering needle-pointed wires, set obliquelyto the radial lines of the grinding cylinder, so as to seize and drawaway from the seeds the cotton or lint without injuring the staple.A Ialso construct' my cylinder of a series of separate rings or segments ofrings, so that one portion can be removed it' injured;` and I employ acondenser for receiving the cotton, and allowingthe air from the brushorbloweritopass away, said condenser being formed of a cylinder orcyliders with Va smooth, perforated surface, to which the 'cotton willnot adhere, as with the wire-cloth cylinders heretofore employed. i v

In the drawing, A is the frame of the machine, formed in any usualmanner. C is the ginning-cylinder; R the guard or range of ribs; B thebrush-cylinder or blower, with its brushes IJ as usual. Theginning-cylinder is formed with circular ranges of teeth, and eachtoothis made of wire, with asinooth, finished tapering needle point, so as totake hold of the cotton and draw the same away from the seeds withoutinjuring the staple. The teeth are toibo s et obliquely `to the radiiofthe cylinder, as at r r, tig. 5, or formed with their points curvedforward, as at n fa, fig. 5. l To make my cylinder both strong, light,and true, I provide a series of rings,E, having arms, S, tig. .7,titted-to be set upon theshaft G of' the ginning-cylnder, and betweenthese I introduce my ranges of teeth, secured in a curved metal stock orbase, D. These .toothed stocks Aare to be formed either. as completerings, or as sections or segments -of rings, and made by casting typemetal, or other suitable metal, aroundthe lower ends of the said wire"teeth. In the sides of these rings o'r segments I `form grooves ,e a, asrepresented in'igs. G and 8, to receive the flanges t of the rings E andthe corresponding anges on thecylinder heads; or ribs might be formed onthe bases of the teeth, and the rings E andthe cylinder heads .be madewith grooves toreceivethe same. One or both hcads of the cylinder aremade movable, Aand set up by av screw or wedge to clamp the segmentsandrings `firmly together, and produce a perfcct,st1"ong, and light andtrue ginnin'g-cylinder.

It is manifest that this construction will `produce a light and strongcylinder, and at the Sametime admit of easy and quick repairs in case ofinjuryto any of the rings carrying the ranges of teeth. In that case, byloosening the nut and drawing back the cylinder head, the rings may heseparated, the injured part removed, and a new section introduced, theheadrep'laced, and screwed up ready. for service without removing thecylinder from the machine. The vribs in the gins 'now in use aregenerally formed in reference to their profile, as shown by the dott-cdred lines in fig. 2, commencing at the lower girt of the hopper at e,and extending to the upper girt at G', where their upper ends arefastened. It will be seen that at the upper angle of the space behindthis style of rib there is-a place where the lint, carried upwards bythe operation of the teeth upon the cotton in the hopper, may collectand pack. This frequently occurs, retarding and often entirely stoppingthe movement or rolling of the cotton in the hopper, compelling theoperator to stop the gin, and clear away the obstruction. The form andVarrangement of ribs in my machine are intended to obviate thisdiiculty. These ribs are shown in profile at fig, 2, in front view intig. 3, and in eross-section (of full size) as seen from above in iig.9. It will be sccn that I give thc middle part of the ribs, from theirpoint g where they become tangentA to the cylinder, a curved form, andcarry that c urvc back above the cylinder, and then give tothe ribs areflex curve upwards and forwards, as shown in the iig-2. The ribs aresecured at their bottom ends to the lower girt c et' the hopper, and attheir upper ends to the upper girt by means of a brace, G', (see fig.9,) fastened to the lower surface of the girt, the bra-ce and rib beingconnected byla narrow neck, P, holding the rib a small space off fromthe girt. The use 4of this narrow neck is toleave between contiguousribs a, space, Q, for Vthe estoi passage ofthe lint upwards behind saidribs, issuing atlast from between said ribs and the pointy), figs. 2 and3, and ire-entering the hopper. By this double curve of the ribsI carrythat part which is over the cylinder further back than usual,-thereb"yexposingthe cotton tothe action of a. greater number of teeth than inother gins, consequently enabling the machine to do more work at everyrevolution of its cylinder. For the purpose of cleansing the lint moreperfectly from the. dirt and dust, which cannot be entirely removed bythe action of the brushes, and which, in existing machines driven bythewind of the brushes, pass with the lint to the condensing roll, andbecome there incorporated with the hat of cotton as it is formed, Iprovide a space between the mote-board M andthe-back' part of the frame,which is enclosed, making a tight box or dead-air chamber and I cover itwith a screen or smooth surface, freely perforated,- (scc V, fig. 2.)The effect of this arrange. ment is that the lint thrown down by th'cbrushes upon the mote-board iscarricd along the screen, and, there beingno current of air from the dead-air chamber to carry along the'particles of dust and dirt, they fallthrough the screen into thechamber. However, if preferred, this casing might be dispensed with, theair and dust passing out through the screen V.

The condenser, so called because by it the loose flock 4or lintdelivered from the brush-blower is collected and formed into a compactbat, is constructed as follo ws: In ordinary machines the lint is passedto a hollow cylinder, extending across the machine at some distancebehind the brush-cylinder, or blower, and whichcylinder is formed ofwire cloth, upon which the lint passes. This kind of covering gives thehat a coarse, uneven appearance, and there is diiculty in separating thecotton from suchwire cloth. To avoid this difficulty I employ one ormore condensing rollers or cylinders, formed wit-h a smooth surfaceperforated with small holes. For this I prefer sheet metal with numeroussmall holes punched in it, but hard rubber, or other material thatpossesses sufficient strength, and can be formed with a smooth surfacecapable of being perforated with numerous small holes without leavingrough edges or projections to catch the cotton or lint 1nay be employed.I have represented two such condensing rollers, 1 and 2, fig. 2, withtheir doiing or delivery rollers 3 and 4. The rollers 2 and 4 shouldbeset in stationary boxes, while the rollers 1 and 3 are allowed to rise`and accommodate the thickncssnof the bat. The pair of rollers`3 and 4are of wood, with smooth surfaces about two inches in diameter. Theroller 4 runs in stationary boxes, and the condenser roller 1 has a freemovement up and down. -fhelrollerruns in arms m, which hang from thcaxis of the condensing roller 1, and canpturn thereon as the rollerS'rise's or falls. The .objectv of this is that the roller 3 may alwaysmaintain the same distance. from the condenser, so that it will neverfail to take the lint from No. 1, no matter how far the rolicrs 3 and 4may be separated by the thickness of the bat between them.l Therollers 1and 3 are to be pressed downwards by suitable springs a: fastened to theframe of the machine.

I consider'vthe advantages of the combined improvements to be these:first, by theform of the nccdlepointed teeth, and the mode of placingthem upon thev cylinder, the points present themselves ii1st,"and,as.the perfectly round, Vsmooth body of the tooth comes forward, there isEa gentle drawing movementupon the cotton, which separates the lint fromthe seed without injury to the staple; second, the mode of constructingthe cylindergives a simple way cf fitting the needle-pointed teeth toits surface, and a prompt, economical way of; repairing damagesthereto.; third, by the mode of forming the ribs a greater surface ofthe cotton roll in the hopper is exposed to the.. operation 4oftheteeth, and agreater number of teeth are acting at once upon the roll,keepinigup its motion, and separating the lint fromitheseeds withoutinjury tothe staple; fourth, by the mode of securing the upper part ofthe ribs to the framewithout obstructing the space for the lint to passback into the hopper, the clogging of the machine andthe delays inoperating it are prevented, fifth, by the dead-air chamber and'itsperforated screen all dirt and foreign matter are removed before thelint reaches the condenser.; sixth, by forming thevcondenser roller orcylinder with a smooth perforated surfacepii'istead of wire cloth, thebat when it comes from the machine is complete.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A gunning-cylinder, formed with circular ribs 'or projectionscontaining or supporting thc teeth, said ribs or projections beingelevated above the other portion of the surface of the ginning-cylinder,'and thus leaving grooves for the reception of the guards, substantiallyas specified.

2. I claim forming the ginning-cylinder of a series of rings, betweenwhich rings or segments of rings containing teeth are secured,substantially as specified.

3. In combination with a cylinder carrying circular ranges ofneedle-pointed teeth, I claim the guards R,

formed with openings to their upper ends,'as and for the purposesspecified.

I claim attaching.thedelivering or dofi'ing roller upon arms extendingfrom the axis of the perforated condensing roller or cylinder, so thatsaid delivery roller is allowed to rise and accommodate the thickness ofthe bat, and is kept properly in contact with the condensing cylinder,as set forth.

5. In combina-tion with the condensing roller or rollers formed withsmooth perforated surfaces, I claim the screen V and brush-blower B forconveying the cotton to the condenser, as specified.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 25th day ofNovember, 1864.

I HENRY VALENTINE SCAWlEltUOOl).

Witnesses:

LEMUEL W. SERRELL, Trios. Guo. HAROLD.

